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A little blog about my big loves; family, friends, stitching and yep, chocolate!

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Shorts & Barefootin'

Dear friends,

     I know that we're all talking about it, but how great is this weather?  I took my stitching out on the back patio last night and stitched after work in shorts and 
Bare feet!  BARE FEET!  WoW!
We even ate dinner on the patio. 
Unheard of in March in Michigan!  
This has been the best "winter" EVER!!!  
I LOVE MICHIGAN - especially this year!!!

Speaking of Michigan, if you're ever in the Detroit area, and you love the Motown sound  (and who doesn't?), you must check out the Motown Museum.  The last time we were there, this picture of Marvin Gaye was on the side of the house:


This is a Youtube video of Marvin performing one of my favorite songs of his.  He wrote this after his brother came back from Viet Nam and the world was in such turmoil; anger over the war, race riots and poverty.  
Marvin wondered what in the world was going on.  This song speaks very eloquently to that and to the fact that we really do have to find a way.... a way to get along, a way to have peace and understanding.  Still, more than 40 years later, this song is still appropriate.

Ooooh, I LOVE Marvin Gaye!

Miss BeckySC had a giveaway on her blog not too long ago.  She was going to give away a sweet needle book she had made and if we were interested, we should leave a comment.  Well, I thought it was darling and left her a note that as cute as I thought it was, I thought my DF Sally would really appreciate it.  Sally has been fighting breast cancer and has returned to work for a short time until her next surgery.  I thought this would cheer her up.  It did!  Sally received it on a Saturday but waited till Monday to open it in my office so I could enjoy it with her.  Becky had wrapped it beautifully and had included a note so Sal would know what was going on.
Thank you so much Becky for gifting Sally such a sweet needlebook.  I know she will use and enjoy it and be forever reminded that there are very special people out there in the world.
Marvin would be proud!
Thank you so much!



For all you non-stitching readers (you know who you are), there is some fun stuff at the end that you might enjoy but first, a stitching update.

I am continuing to work on Mary Gibson (order at the hyperlink).  I really am enjoying working on this one but the houses at the bottom are taking me longer than I thought.  I think I get bored and get up and down more than I normally do while doing fill-in work so it takes me a long time.
  
Here's a sneaky peak of where I am today:
You didn't think I'd show you the almost whole thing, did you?  I still have to finish the red house and then there's another blue house and oh, some more border and then,
it'll look like this:
Sort of....

I changed some of the colors from the way it was charted so it would look more like the original you see above.  
I hope I've done it justice.  We'll see.
The sampler my Mary Gibson WIP is laying on is Marianne Wenn.   
(click on hyperlink to order)
I think they're very similar stylistically.
3 major sections, a great border and similarly styled houses in red!  
I think they're going to look great hanging near each other.
I wonder... should I use the same frame on Mary Gibson?
I'll have to give that some thought.  What do you think?

We had our Guild Auction this month and it was a lot of fun.
Attendance and participation were down a bit this year but it was still a great time.
I was in charge of running it this year and had a lot of fun putting it together and incorporating a lot of great suggestions (bake sale, alternating the live and silent auctions etc).  But, because I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures.  D'oh!

This is what I came home with:

My friend Pat made this!  The shells for the pinkeep are from Nantucket and the threadkeep, her DH made from a beautiful piece of wood all resting on a beautiful shaker tray.

There were many gorgeous things and I'm so sorry I didn't have time to take pictures.  Some of the hand made pieces were just stunning and fetched quite a lot of money.  I hope everyone will participate next year and those that didn't come this year will come back.  Our guild has some amazingly talented women in it and I really missed those of you that didn't come.

Now for some fun, non-stitching related stuff.

I am blessed to work with some amazing people.  My best friends are women I met at work that I have known now for more than 25 years!  I celebrated my 25th anniversary in January.  I am also very lucky to call some young people we work with friends.

Two of them in particular, have become very dear friends.  
Todd and Josh.
They are both great kids, funny, kind, smart and so cute we can hardly stand it!
One day, Todd, Sheila and I decided it would be a great idea to play a little prank on Josh.
We three, along with Sheila's daughter Meghan, met at work on Saturday.
We thought Josh deserved an office rather than a pod and began to build him one out of cardboard.  It sort of morphed into an office/home:

That's Josh's dog, TC sitting outside.

Crazy flowers, and flower box.  The curtains were made out of duck tape.
We covered every picture, every chart, every piece of equipment on his desk:
Don'tcha love the mouse and his little droppings?

A peak thru the front door window:
a 3-d tree (maybe that's 2-D) and flowers ready for cutting:
See the fairy door?
We even took a picture of ourselves to hang on his front door:
And finally, dear Meghan giving TC a pat:
We had such fun doing this for Josh and he really got a kick out of it.  He was able to keep it up for a few days and then someone complained (why????) and he had to take it down.  Nope, we didn't help with that!
Work is great when you love what you do and the people you work with!

Have you had fun at work lately!?

BTW, I was thrilled to learn from all your comments on my last post that I am not alone in not giving away very many framed, stitched pieces. I am not the only one that is 
being a little VERY selective about whom I give framed pieces to.  
If you've ever gotten one, you know I must love you dearly!

Finally, let me leave you with a picture of Sophie and Gracie:

This was a while back, they no longer need sweaters but I thought this was a pretty shot.

Blessings to you all.  Thank you so much for stopping by my little bit of the world and most importantly for taking time out of your busy day to leave me a note to let me know you've been here!

Peace,
Terri

44 comments:

Vickie said...

What a great post!! Awesome work on Josh's cardboard office/house! Wow! http://astitchersstory.blogspot.com/

Deb said...

ROFLOL! I love what you did to the pod. How much fun is that? I can only imagine his face when he saw it. That is definitely what I'd call fun at work.

You're almost finished with your piece! Maybe you can get some more stitching in again today - barefoot! It didn't rain like they predicted it would!! This weather has been unbelieveable. I wish that it wouldn't end!

The Inspired Stitcher said...

I want to come work with you! I love your prank. Awesome and so creative!!!

Love your stitching progress too!

Happy weekend!

Diane (di) said...

Oh that pod looks like a lot of fun Terri. Who in their right mind would complain about that? I love it!!

Mary Gibson... simply beautiful and you are so close to a Happy Dance. I'll get my red stilletos ready! :)

Mouse said...

lovely blog post .. adore that house and the mouse too ;)
lovely stitching and isn't it nice to go barefooted ....
and I've not got one of your pieces *sigh ..lol
love mouse xxxxxx

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Just popped over to return the following. What perfect timing - I love the house! We used to do stuff like that when I worked in an office, usually for Birthdays and Leaving Days. We once made a whole Nursery for someone having a baby complete with washing line of baby clothes. Another time we made an oilrig out of cardboard.
Your stitching is looking good too.

Giovanna said...

Mary Gibson is going to be wonderful - she and Marianne will look awesome together, excellent choice!

marly said...

Anxious to see Mary and your color changes. I just took all the cardboard down in the kitchen from trying to map out changes. You did a great job - my cardboard cabinets and fridge kept falling over but Josh's house stood for days!!

aprilmecheelesdulllife said...

Love his office/house!! I know that was so fun!! Your WIP is so pretty!! We are having Hot weather here in Bama.. Rain today!!! yeah!
Maybe it will cool off. High 80's... I also love Marvin Gaye!! What's Going On.. What's Going on!!
Growing up I lived in Michigan for 1 year. Ludington MI. I love it there. Have always wanted to come visit again!! Hope to one day!! Have a great Wekkend Terri!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post, Terri! I loved the creation of Todd's office/house! Super looking WIP!

Have a spectacular weekend!

Robin

Cathy Lloyd said...

Loved reading your post...oh my heck...that office of Josh's was just hilarious! I'll bet you guys had so darn much fun doing that! I don't have much fun at work because I work at home...although, as such, there are perks as well...like a great place to nap after lunch! Your Mary is fabulous! I really, really ♥ it! I'll be you are very well loved at work and at home...and I KNOW you're loved in the cyber world! Have a great weekend Terri!

Debbie said...

CAN`T WAIT TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL FINISHED PROJECT!

valerie said...

That cubicle transformation was genius!! Oh, so funny and so creative! Why to people have to be party poopers for. Mary Gibson is coming along wonderfully!

I'm glad the weather has been nice there. Winter is finally hitting us. In between glorious sunny days, we get horrendous rainy days. It's supposed to rain this weekend. I wonder if they are right...

Sheila said...

What great stitching projects you are doing.
I laughed out loud (to the consternation of my two cats) when I saw how you decorated Josh´s pod...absolutely brilliant...but how sad some Jobsworth complained about it...I would think they were jealous!!!

Lisa Clarke said...

That office was so cute!! I have a sunburn. In Michigan. in March! Aren't we lucky to have this weather? And the winter....sigh, I would love that every year!! Hugs!
Lisa C.

Margaret said...

Love the pic of your little fur babies! They're so sweet! And the office -- how fun is that?! I bet Josh got a real kick out of it. You really are lucky to work somewhere where the people are fun and you enjoy it. That's great! Love your Mary Gibson -- or what we can see of it. And love your framed Marianne Wenn! Gorgeous! Using the same frame might be a good touch! Great piece you came home with from the guild auction. And how special is that that you and Becky gave the needlebook to your friend. I will send good thoughts for her fight against breast cancer. Great post! But you always do great posts!

krayolakris said...

OMIGOSH! What a cute idea! Josh must have been tickled!
Your sampler looks beautiful!

Melissa said...

That's a wonderful thing you guys did at work! We used to do stuff like that at a place I worked at over 10 years ago. Now in the corporate world fun seems to be verboten! Too bad but I'm glad to see you guys carrying on the tradition! Yay!

Looking forward to seeing your big wonderful BAP finish!

Cathy B said...

I always love the samplers that you choose to stitch. I should just give you my credit card and when you place an order for yourself, you can order one for me too. LOL!

Krista said...

Hi Terri, what a great post! I was laughing at what you all did to your co-workers pod, so much fun! Reminds me of what I did this Christmas time. No one wanted to decorate in my office area, so I came in on the weekend and decorated by wrapping all of our desks, including the bosses, in Christmas wrapping paper and bows! Everyone thought an elf did it. LOL

Love your Mary Gibson! At first I kept doing double takes, I thought you were stitching it from an original sampler lying under it. I will add it to my someday list. Looking forward to seeing your finish.

How very cool that you are near the Motown museum. I think that is everyone's fave song of his.. mine for sure! Enjoy your weekend and the beautiful weather!

Rhona said...

Brilliant post! Totally love what you did at work...got to make it fun!

Lisa V said...

Would have loved to have seen Josh's face when he came in and found his new office. HaHa

Kellie said...

Okay, I want to work with you and your crew. Not nearly as much fun where I work. Instead of one person complaining about the cardboard "office", it would have been a whole building. LOL!

Love your stitching! When I finish my comment, I am going to check out your hyperlinks on both. So pretty!

Natasha said...

What a fun way to spruce up his pod LOLthose curtains were snazzy =) I love what I see of your WIP, looks good girl..

I love weather like that especially being able to go barefoot! ahhh I can't wait for the warmer weather to come to our area :)

Have a beautiful weekend and lucky for you to work with such a great group of people :)

Lisa said...

Terri,

I enjoy your blog so much!

I work for the guvment also and we have a good time also!

lisa

Katrina said...

Love the gift for your co-worker!!!! Too sweet and OMG that office is so much fun. I can't believe someone complained, party pooper ;-).

Love your samplers. I would vote for a different frame in a similar finish but that's me. I don't like things too matchy, matchy, LOL.

Great post!!!!

samplerlover said...

Looks like you have a lot of fun at work lol.

Mary is looking lovely and you are right the other one looks similar.

Grit said...

Wow, was für ein langer POst.
Die Stickerei ist wunderschön.
So tolles Wetter haben wir hier in Germany auch. Ich liebe es.
Liebe Grüße Grit from Germany

Myra said...

Isn't that Becky just the sweetest? And how sweet of you to think of your dear friend. I love what you did to your coworker's cubby - too funny. Now, why do you have to be such a tease?! :o) Can't wait to see her in all her glory.

Sally said...

How sweet of Becky to gift Sally with that sweet needlebook:)

Mary Gibson looks wonderful! Looking forward to seeing the whole thing.

Love the house/ office!

Anne said...

I want to work in that cubicle!! It sounds like it was a lot of fun until someone complained. They were probably just jealous they didn't have one!!

Lovely gift to Sally!! Mary Gibson is gorgeous! I love your colour changes!!

Your fur babies are adorable!!

Prims By The Water said...

What a little devil you can be Terri! Loved the cardboard office...we have done that before in our office. then one time we filled one entirely to the top with balloons...that one was hard work. Loving our weather, but now it is raining. Take care, hope to see you soon! Janice

Chris said...

Hey Terri!
I think you must be a hoot to work with. I can just pictures you guys laughing until you were crying putting this together.
It was so kind of you and Becky to take care of your friend Sally. I am wishing her a wonderful recovery and much future health.
I love your current sampler. The shaker tray and accessories are to DIE for.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

dixiesamplar said...

Love Josh's new digs...very artistic! The sampler WIP is gorgeous and can't wait to see it finished :o)

Congrats on all you lovely wins!

Cari said...

Oh my goodness...I love, love, love reading your blog. Good old soul music...what could be better. And decorating the office. I miss those days too. I once put a really, really old family pic of myself in our elevator. It was so much fun because no one knew who is was...my hair was a short afro....how funny is that. Anyway...later that same day the Human Resource director took it down and placed it on my desk. Guess having too much fun at work could NOT be tolerated !!!

And I so love your stitching. You are such an inspiration. You always have the most fascinating samplers going on. And right after I see them on your blog I go right out and buy one for me too!!

Keep watching the Bush blog and web site. Could a get-together be in our future? Love you tons dear friend. Have a simply fabulous weekend. HUGS

Loraine said...

What a fun post Terri! I love your sampler. It's almost there..can you stand it? It's going to be gorgeous.
This winter has been awesome! I was washing the car in flip flops and Capri's yesterday...oh yeah! I wish there wasn't so much to do outside. I'm anxious to sit out and stitch.
I love the house you made for Josh. Too funny!
I've been trying to get caught up on my life. I know I owe you a real e-mail. Where do the days go?
Hugs to you dear friend. Thanks for posting. I like seeing what you are up to.

Poussy Stiches my love said...

bisous my friend

Sarah Beth said...

Love the house of cardboard. Too bad someone had to take the fun out of it and make him take it down. I bet they were just jealous. I grew up in Michigan and now live in Indiana. I can't believe how warm it gets now. I remember when it had to be 70 degrees out before we could wear shorts as kids. That usually wasn't till may. This global warming is crazy but we can enjoy the nice weather.

Jannie said...

I loved this whole blog. So interesting. But you're away way too long. ( - : Loved the cardboard office. Your stitching is beautiful.

Penny said...

Love the cardboard office!! Right down to the little dog. :) Sounds like a great work environment.
Your stitching is looking so pretty! I just love the colors in this piece.
Sophie and Gracie are so sweet and I love their sweaters. :)

Ellen said...

Love your current sampler (and the one under it too), and I'm looking forward to see more of it soon. It looks like you must be almost through.

I also love the cardboard house/office. So creative! Maybe I should get you to make one for my granchildren. Anyway, hope someone took it home so it wouldn't get thrown out in the trash.

Eileen said...

You sure did a lot of work on Josh's office!

Catherine said...

What a great post! Love the sweet gift your friend received from Becky!
The office trick ~ wow! That is too funny! Seriously, someone complained? Someone needs a reality check on how to enjoy what life is really about ~ not just boring cubicle space!
What a sweet shot of the pups.

Sherry :o) said...

How funny, the cardboard artwork. I love work pranks - not many happen where I work now but where I used to - oh boy, the stories!!

Looks like you have been stitching up a storm. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

Miss seeing you today - have to go to the hospital to visit Mom this afternoon so I will once again, miss KSSG. Let me know what I miss!